Ummm, a PhD is about original contribution. Implementing a "feature" that someone else imagines is about algorithm implementation. An original contribution is about recognizing a hard problem and at least coming up with a novel solution. Ideally, the candidate also provides a thorough description of the problem in the language of her/his discipline. For the most part, if someone can describe a "feature" they'd like to see for LTtng, then they know the problem they want to solve. Defining the problem is often most of the work; once you know what you want to do, the rest is easy. Of course, there are problems that are known that don't have solutions, or at least not optimal solutions.

I'd say the poster is better off (and hopefully already doing this) working to become an expert (aka PhD) on the topic, say, by joining the ACM (maybe IEEE, but since they share databases in this area maybe not), and entering the terms "linux unix trace" into the ACM's digital library. I did that and got all kinds of interesting papers and potential topics, none of which are mentioned in this thread.

If soliciting thoughts from /. was enough to get one started on a PhD, then perhaps we ought have a /. category of Ph/.D. ;-)

Good luck!

Seriously? You're asking for a crowd-sourced original contribution to (I assume) Computer Science for your PhD? Are you going to defend "our" dissertation live on /. ?

;-)

Back when, Bell-Northern Research used to launch 2 or 3 parallel dev teams on a project and select the best result. Obviously they had cash to do that, but the key is that they let the teams run to the end. Each team got to complete a whole project and there were no winners or losers, at least as far as your career went in the company. At least that was the idea.

When budgets were tightened, they went back to a more traditional approach. I wonder if anyone did a study on those days... Might make a good thesis.

Anyone from those days care to comment?

I don't know I find these kind of opening phrases amusing/annoying, but saying "Predictions are critical to modern life" seems to imply that somehow they are more important than ever. Aren't most major religions based on "predictions" of some kind and didn't they begin a wee bit before "modern life"?

Crowd-sourcing predictions will undermine all sorts of religions, and we all know what happens when you threaten the monopoly on truth help by religion...

Don't think the source code will help you understand the problem or the solution... no more than seeing DNA helps you understand biochemistry.

If you don't know why someone needs to use a Runge-Kutta algorithm, then you need to try to understand the problem being solved. Then worry about the algorithm. In other words, understanding how a solution works doesn't mean it's right or well-suited to the problem being solved.

The "math" is easy.

My programming rate with 12 years post-secondary mathematics and 25+ years math use and interest is >> your rate without a good math background.

I get some jobs because I have the background no one else (available) possesses. Being able to program is the necessary expression of the problem being solved.

In one of my first jobs, I was asked to learn and apply mathematics to do some satellite orbit modeling. The Chief Scientist of the company was very pleased I was willing to take on the work, but to my surprise mostly because the company had joined the bandwagon of companies in the late 70s and early 80s in their enthusiasm for Comp Sci grads. Only later, he explained, did they realize that most were trained to apply algorithms in problem solutions, not to create solutions (especially those that required some math work). This was driven home when a colleague asked me for the solution to an orbit problem he had been asked to solve. I said sure, it's easy, and here's the mathematical approach you can use -- his problem was for a satellite we had not yet worked with. He totally balked and insisted that I must have a pre-coded subroutine available he could use?

Anyway, I'm happy that (at times) my interest in math has paid off in getting me work that others can't. And I get a premium because of the common feeling that "math is hard". This is especially true of management who can neither program or solve math-related problems and are scared to death and willing to pay :-)

Of course, to be fair, I'm no great whiz at database, client-server, and other more "traditional" programming challenges, so things kind of even out ;-)

Riiiiight...

I have a hammer, and wrenches, and screwdrivers, and many other tools in my shop. I have over 100 books on mathematics and many more on applied mathematics (physics, engineering, comp sci, etc.).

I have TOOLS.

Making an analogy between Mathematics and a hammer is like saying I have only hammers in my shop.

When you have only one analogy in your life, all like looks like your analogy :-)

The most important variable is frequency. Anything near microwaves around 2.5 GHz is in the band that causes heating in materials with significant water. FM has never been a problem since it's so much lower. GSM tops out at 1.9 GHz, UMTS-FDD has versions right in the danger zone. As said in the quoted post, get an RF meter and measure for yourself. That being said, at 8 m the power is down by a factor of ~1/(2^4). So a 40 dBm EIRP would be around 2.5 dBm in your apartment. Compare that to 700 W that you'd find in your typical oven. Big difference...

Last, I agree that you should consider future sale value as perceptions, especially uninformed as you are like to see in the general population, will trump logic...

I once dealt with an programmer, Chris, who was motivated only by deadlines in that he believed that success meant the apperance of ticking off a milestone. To wit, 6 or so months after he was let go for total lack of engineering ability (another story itself), I found myself working with the best debugger dude in out group trying to figure out why my code was badly broken. Eventually we thought we should step into a module written by Chris that was supposedly released. Process being what was, Chris had self-tested and self-released it. When the debugger entered, we were greeted with a function body that was empty except for a giant comment saying,

/* Cam, I don't know what this is supposed to do */ return 0;

Needless to say, there was a bit of a panic to review all his "released" code ...

If I catch on fire, I very much hope that a scientist is around instead of the chamber members who will have to ask if they're to blame before deciding whether or not to put me out...

I believe that the dinosaur chamber of commerce also initiated a similar lawsuit when the general population noticed that numbers were thinning. Sadly for them too, it was the lawyers that did them in :-)

'cause London is burning and I, I live by the river

I believe there's a parallel here with the oil and gas industry. Here in Alberta, you can tell where oil and gas activity is prevalent by the nature of the roads. Forestry trunk roads that were only 1 vehicle width when I was a kid are now more than 4 vehicle widths, well-graded, and maintained throughout the year, especially in the winter when drilling takes advantage of frozen ground.

We have a good number of wind turbines in southern Alberta and I've never heard of any kind of transportation problem.

Basically, government will catch up with infrastructure (roads) if they really want to support this new industry. Of course, slapping a royalty on the resource (is wind like oil?) might help :-)

Oh, of course, the government can't prevent people from not planning ahead in their route selection or choice of truck driver educational/IQ standards...

Oh, this reminds me of a beaut I heard up here in Snowanada

It appears that a politician running for mayor in fair Calgary, Alberta, may accept funds from, say, land and commercial developers, for his campaign. What ever is left over is his/hers to keep, personally.

I bet they even get a discount on new homes in new developments...

Except that a corporation more than likely does not represent the collective rights of its employees (directors, whatever).

I suppose you might even argue that they are denying their "people" elected representation if they indeed act on their behalf as it's doubtful that any kind of democratic process granted that privilege.

Thus, the corporation is a faux individual... (no knee-kicking; I've incorporated! Thrice to date, so I get three extra votes :-)

This echoes my own experience in challenging government policy here in Canada, and makes me sad that everywhere people don't get the whole picture because they don't receive all the information on a topic.

In my own case, I wrote to every Opposition and Cabinet Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Alberta challenging the logic of electricity deregulation a few years ago. Since Alberta is a one-party state in effect, I got replies from all Opposition MLAs, but only one from the Government, directly from the Minister in charge. At first I had to admit it was a well-written reply and seemed to have some "weight" in that it referred to Alberta's achievements in electricity deregulation and promoting free markets. However, a quick Internet search revealed that the whole letter was just a cut and paste job of speeches delivered to various groups in Canada and the US. Moreover, some of the groups were pure sham. One named in the letter purported to be a Marketing Association or something based in Washington and they lauded Alberta as leading the way in a group of five or so "progressive" provinces and states. Other than the minister's speeches, I couldn't find any evidence that they actually existed!!!

The most egregious claim in the letter was that since some point in time in 2000 or 2001 (I forget the exact date selected) Alberta's electricity rates had declined by a significant amount. WTF? They chose a date that was the highest point in terms of price. Prices are still not close to pre-2000 levels, especially when you factor in tacked-on transmission and delivery charges (money grabs).

The final kicker was that despite the Alberta Government's new rules about patronage appointments, several years later, after the damage was done, the Minister got a plush posting in Washington.

My final comment is that it was embarrassing how simplistic their "deception" was. I guess given that since the late 70s Alberta's government has been run by leaders and ministers that average, probably, no better than a high school education and have that eroded by populist, short-term focused politics I shouldn't be surprised.

I can't wait for copyright taxes to be challenged in the courts here in Canada, and hope to be able to watch, if not support, an educated and articulate public battle the real interests behind all this...

Please, not before my application for the indexing of data volumes (with a preferred embodiment based on vegetable dyes stamped onto processed cellulose sheets) such that information such as authorship, data category, repository location, publication date, publisher, and such is presented in an index consisting of cards (see later preferred embodiments) arranged in stacks contained by sliding card-holding racks (see later preferred embodiments for examples in wood and steel). Said racks are located in a central repository and locatable via instructions presented by a second invention (referenced therein) with preferred embodiments including signs, help desk brochures, verbal instruction from repository custodians, etc.